New and saying hi

[Woundedduck]

I just registered on the site and wanted to pop in and say hello. I'm not a hardcore vintage collector or anything, but I asked around on some other forums and was directed here. I'm more of a born again collector who started to get back into collecting a couple years ago.

Since starting up again, I've mainly focused on star autos of the late 80s to the present, Ohio State alumni autos, and Justin Upton. However, for a while I've wanted to get into vintage and have recently started making more efforts in that direction. Most of my current vintage is stuff I've had for a while, but has kind of taken a back seat in my collection.....nothing major there though. I just love looking at some of what other collectors are picking up and seeing what's out there even if it's out of my range.

To give an idea of where I'm planning to focus, I don't have a huge budget, but I'm hoping to pick up some low grade examples of good or interesting players. I'm not really concerned about condition and raw would even help my wallet more so long as I know I'm getting authentic stuff. I'll probably be looking to spend between $25-$50 per card at most and if I can find the right set/player/condition, maybe a little less or more.

I know I won't have the $$ for the really big prewar HOFers, but I'm hoping for some cool cards of guys with an interesting history. Not really looking for commons that no one knows anything about though. For example, had the Bill Buckner/Mookie Wilson play taken place in the early 1900s, those would be cool cards to own for the history, but probably wouldn't have outrageous prices. I'm sure there are some cool stories of inexpensive guys that have prewar examples (I'm still researching who I want to get :P ). Any less expensive Black Sox (if they exist)? That's the kind of prewar stuff I'm looking for. Suggestions and histories welcomed

For 1950s-1960s or later stuff, I'm hoping to pick up some lower quality, affordable cards of some of the bigger names. I almost got a raw low quality '56 Jackie Robinson, but was afraid of authenticity so I backed off.

Anyway, my knowledge of vintage is small, so I probably won't post much, but I hope to participate and learn a ton here.

[collectbaseball]

Fred Merkle might be a guy you'd like -- his baserunning blunder is what ended up letting the Cubs make it to the 1908 World Series:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkle%27s_Boner

His cards can definitely be found in the $50 price range.


Welcome to the forums!
Dan

welcome to the site and happy collecting.

STAY AWAY FROM THE T206'S. THE MONSTER CAN BE DANGEROUS.

I am sure you will have fun here. You can grab some really great HOF'ers in low grade if you wait and can spend a hundred or so on a card. Some of the lesser HOF'ers can be had for less in grades 1-2. Have Fun

[Matt]

Welcome to the forum - it starts with dipping in your toes - before you know it you'll own a few of those big-time pre-war cards you mentioned.

[Woundedduck]

Originally Posted by collectbaseball

Fred Merkle might be a guy you'd like -- his baserunning blunder is what ended up letting the Cubs make it to the 1908 World Series:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkle%27s_Boner

His cards can definitely be found in the $50 price range.


Welcome to the forums!
Dan

haha...I've been watching the Ken Burns baseball documentary series and he was mentioned and I thought he might be someone I could get

[Northviewcats]

Welcome Woundedduck!

Always glad to see more interest in vintage collecting.

If you are not sure what you want to collect, you might want to start out with buying a variety of lower grade vintage issues. Buy a card or two a month depending on your budget. This will help you get familiar with handling different types of cards. The most frustrating thing about getting started in vintage is worrying whether a card is genuine or altered. Nothing beats looking at the cards up close and learning how to spot problems. When you get a new issue check out past threads in the archive section. Learn about the different issues. Compare your card to other pictures on this site. Learn about the cards and the players. Be sure to visit the link to "Old Cardboard" and the numerous vintage links at the top of this page. Don't be afraid of asking questions, even if you think they are dumb; and don't be discouraged if someone seems to be a bit rude or grumpy on the board. Sometimes we all get a little to uptight here and forget what it was like to be a novice. Also, don't get discouraged when you see cards that you don't ever think you can afford being shown off in recent pick-up threads. There is a place for you no matter how small or large your collection. You have come to the right place if you really want to learn about vintage cards.

After awhile you will discover what you like and you can always resell the other cards that you purchased on the BST or eBay, and focus in on the cards that you love.

Good luck with your collection.

Joe

[FrankWakefield]

Fred Snodgrass, of the New York Giants, told Larry Ritter in that great work, The Glory of Their Times, that Merkle was one smart ballplayer. That Mr. McGraw would sometimes discuss strategy with Merkle, and respected Merkle's thoughts. And that Mr. McGraw wouldn't ask Snograss, or Mathewson or the other Giants what they thought... Snodgrass considered Merkle unduly maligned. Still, that's a pivotal moment for baseball. His cards can be found. Even his autograph once in a while. Woundedduck, you might think of getting The Glory of Their Times on cd, a 4 cd set. Listening to those players talk about baseball can really get you into the spirit of collecting old cards. Many of the players on those cd's are depicted in the white border tobacco card set, T206.

[lharri3600]

Welcome,welcome,welcome!!!

[joeadcock]

Hello and welcome

F.L.

[sportscardtheory]

Good call. With the way the newer market is heading, the fine wine/precious metal of card collecting (vintage) is the way to go right now.

[T206DK]

Nice to have a new vintage card collector aboard here. The Ken Burns series on baseball really sparked my interest in the history of the game and especially some of the 19th century players.